Your! Call: What should be next for the Montreal Impact?

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Ken Rodney, TSN.ca11/5/2013 10:00:27 AM

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The 2013 season looked like it was going to be a great story for the Montreal Impact. They entered their second season as a member of Major League Soccer and were on pace to easily qualify for the playoffs and show impressive franchise growth.

In September the team's form took a turn for the worse as they were only able to win twice and pick up a draw from their final nine games.

Their slide took them from a share of the Eastern Conference lead on September 8, all the way to a final game loss to Toronto FC that forced them into a one-game elimination playoff matchup in Houston against the Dynamo.

Much the way their regular season ended, the trip to Texas was a disaster for the Impact.

Not only were they beaten 3-0 by the Dynamo thanks to two first-half goals and a second-half insurance marker, they completely lost their composure in the waning minutes of the game.

Defender Nelson Rivas was the first to go, as he picked up his second yellow card in the 72nd minute.

In the final minute of the match, defender Andres Romero and forward Marco Di Vaio were both shown red cards for their parts in a skirmish that erupted in the corner near the Impact goal.

The latter two players were suspended for two extra games in addition to the one they already received for the red cards.

The team and head coach Marco Schallibaum were also fined for repeated mass confrontation violations.

Now from the ashes of the Impact's burned down season comes one final spark in the form of a rumour.

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl is reporting that just-retired Impact defender Alessandro Nesta will be replacing Schallibaum as head coach of the team.

There is precedent for such a move, as early in the year Toronto FC made retiring Queen's Park Rangers defender Ryan Nelsen - who had no coaching experience - their new head coach.

If the Impact pull the trigger, Nesta will become their third head coach in three seasons since the club joined MLS.

Our questions to you are, where should the Montreal Impact go from here? Do you take a positive or negative view of the 2013 season? And if Schallibaum is on his way out, would you like to see Nesta or a more experienced coach hired to fill the position?